European F-35s would not be able to fly without permission from the US Pentagon.
The F-35 fighter jet, a marvel of modern aviation technology, has become a cornerstone of many European Air Forces. However, its reliance on US-controlled systems raises concerns about its operational independence.
Although European countries own their F-35s, they do not have full autonomy over their operations. The US can influence or restrict their use through software access, logistics, and maintenance dependencies. This gives the Pentagon a powerful tool for geopolitical control over its allies’ airpower.
Christophe Gomart, a European People’s Party (Christian Democrats, Les Républicains) MEP and former head of France’s Military Intelligence Directorate from 2013 to 2017, pointed out in an interview to the French newspaper Le Point, referring to how NATO could operate if Donald Trump withdraws his troops, that countries that possess equipment of American origin will not be able to use it without US Pentagon consent.
“This is obviously the case with their F-35 fighter jet (which the Germans, the Poles and a dozen or so European countries bought)” he added. “On the other hand, we will be able to use the Rafale. This is also why the Egyptians bought Rafales after the Americans refused to allow Egyptian F16s to carry out strikes in Libya in 2014.”
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While there’s no confirmed “kill switch” experts speculate that the US could remotely disable or degrade certain functionalities if a country were to operate the jets against US interests. The cloud-native Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN) software is under U.S. control. Without access to necessary updates or modifications, European F-35s could experience degraded performance or even become inoperable.
Christophe Gomart was elected to the European Parliament in June 2024 with the political party Les Républicains, and is part of the European People’s Party (EPP) group, where he brings his expertise in European defense and security issues, in particular to the Subcommittee on Security and Defense (SEDE).
Could Greece, which wants to buy 20 F-35 aircraft, be able to use them to defend itself against a possible attack by Turkey?